Building a Cancer Education Program in the Modern Era: Lessons from Stone Soup

In 2017, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced new guidelines for the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) application that requires reporting on education and career development activities in a section entitled, “Cancer Research Career Enhancement and Related Activities” (CRCERA). While these cancer education and training programs previously have been a required part of the CCSG application, the new guidelines require greater rigor in conducting and reporting these endeavors. In this commentary, I give my perspective of how I have built a cancer education program, first as a program director and then as an associate director of cancer education and mentoring, the critical role leadership plays in the process, and how I have recruited contributors to this educational “stone soup.”